2020 was a historic year in many ways. While the COVID-19 pandemic was a pivotal part of the year, the US (among other things) also saw a turbulent change of leadership and the increasing momentum of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Now, the battle against racial injustice has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
In mid-2020, the death of George Floyd had triggered protests across the United States and beyond. Racial injustice was not a new phenomenon. But a video of a black man saying that he was unable to breathe while a white police officer knelt on his neck, eventually becoming silent and passing away, had created a furore. In the days and months that followed, 'Black Lives Matter' became a rallying cry.
Thousands came out onto the streets to protest, even as political leaders railed against systemic racism and countless others called for police reforms in the US. The efforts saw varying degrees of success. As the protests gained momentum, other problematic situations involving the police and black people came to light, and several laws, proposals, and public directives came up at different levels of administration.
Now, as the efforts to secure equality in all regards continue, the movement has been nominated by Petter Eide, a member of the Parliament of Norway. For the uninitiated, the Norwegian Nobel Committee selects the Peace Prize Laureates and the award is given in Oslo. The nominations can come from any politician serving at the national level and has to be accompanied by a short explanation for their selection. Incidentally, former US President Donald Trump has also been nominated by another Norwegian MP, Christian Tybring-Gjedde.
"Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice. They have had a tremendous achievement in raising global awareness and consciousness about racial injustice," an article by The Guardian quotes Eide as saying.
The social movement was incidentally founded in 2013, a direct response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in a case where he had shot dead an African-American teen. Protests began online with the hashtag "Black Lives Matter" and following the 2014 deaths of two African American individuals, it gained momentum in the form of street demonstrations.
